Tuesday, March 27, 2007

We're nowhere near 'parity,' AAJA executive director says

Rene Astudillo whipped a table out of his ASNE-issued tote. The executive director of the Asian American Journalists Association was mulling a new figure: 3.27 percent. That's the number of Asian Americans that the 2007 ASNE Newsroom Employment Census measured in the workforce this year, a slight increase from 2006.

"There needs to be a more significant change in these numbers," Astudillo said, adding, "If ASNE's goal is to achieve parity by 2025, they're not going to achieve that."

But, Astudillo added, it's not just about the numbers. The challenge is ensuring that editorial decisions at the top reflect local diversity.

"A better way to judge diversity in the news is how the news is covered," he said. "Even if we don't reach parity in the newsroom, it is important that we reflect the communities they are covering."